The Knight in Red
by ZenWriterZero
Summary: After the events of Fate, Shriou eventually became a Counter Guardian. Pursuing an ever distant utopia, he fights battle after horrible battle. This is but one of those battles, and how he must fight the greatest opponent of all, himself.
1. Battle

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor anything else associated with Type-Moon. 2nd fic already, I might be getting the hand of this. This is just something I thought up. Honestly, the story seemed to change from where I originally wanted it to go. It just kind of panned out like this. I've probably got some things a little bit wrong or messed up names or places or facts. I'm a big fan of Fate but not an expert. This is suppose to be a two-shot, first part focusing on action and second part maybe a bit more deep. So hopefully I'll have the second part up soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy!

The Knight in Red

It was a portrait of hell itself.

Flames consumed everything, buildings were smashed to pieces, and bloody, mangled corpses were strewn about the area for miles.

Amidst this hell stood a figure in a black cloak. His name was John Cyrustine. He was a magus in ancient times. His name never became known to the world in his time, but now all of humanity would tremble at his name.

The now power mad Cyrustine laughed as he surveyed the carnage. Before he "died", he had discovered a way to store vast amounts of magical power in his body. But wanting more, he decided to put himself into suspended animation while his body would store more and more energy.

Cyrustine looked at the corpses that occupied the ruined building he was standing in. They had discovered his hiding place and realized the potential of his power. They tried to steal it for themselves, but naturally, he didn't take too kindly to that.

Remarkably, one of the figures was still moving. A young boy was trying to move towards the couple responsible for his resurrection. But the boy collapsed before he could reach them.

With an air of sick glee, Cyrustine walked over to the dying boy. The boy could only look up with questions in his eyes. _Why did you do this? Can you help me? Why?_

To which Cyrustine just laughed.

"Because I needed to stretch out a little bit." The words were rusty in his mouth and a little alien. Nevertheless, they conveyed his intentions well enough. He raised his hand and Projected a sword. Projection may be a near useless form magic, but it could still be handy from time to time.

With a smile the mad magus stabbed the boy through the heart and watched as the life faded from his eyes.

After that, he walked out into the ruined city and wondered what his next move should be. Then he heard the screams of people in pain. People who were still _alive. _

"Hmmm, still alive? I think I should fix that."

The magus started to walk towards the screams.

"That's far enough."

The magus turned around to see a rather curious man garbed in what appeared to be some type of black armor and a red duster. He had dark tanned skin and steely grey eyes. And his hair was a completely pure white.

The magus sensed great power surrounding this person. Which could only mean one thing.

"I see, so you are the counter guardian that the world has sent to destroy me."

The figure in red said nothing, and just glared at Cyrustine.

"Not one for talk I take it? Well do what you will. But know that there isn't a counter guardian that exists that can kill me." Cyrustine settled into a defensive stance, ready for the guardian to make the first move.

But the guardian just stood there and glared. Until finally he decided to speak.

" I suppose in a way I should thank you."

This caught Cyrustine off guard. "For what?"

"If you had not killed the ones who freed you, I would have had to kill them myself. So thank you for sparing me that."

Cyrustine laughed. "What's this? A counter guardian who hates to kill people? How amusing."

The guardian's glare seemed to intensify.

"Well then, Mr Guardian, shall we go?"

Now the guardian smirked as a black and white pair of twin Chinese swords appeared in his hands from nowhere.

"Let's go."

The guardian was upon Cyrustine before he could blink. Aiming a decapitating blow to the neck with the black sword. A blow that Cyrustine did nothing to prevent…

A moment later, it was clear why, as the black sword in the guardian's hand practically bounced off Cyrustine's neck with a clang.

The guardian's eyes widened as he tried to follow up with a blow to the skull with his other sword. Only to have that one bounce off of the magus as well.

"Tch!" the guardian leaped up and kicked the magus in the head which did no visible harm but allowed the guardian to be propelled back to get some room to think.

The Magus was now completely covered in what looked like crystals.

Cyrustine grinned. "What do you think? This is the secret to collecting vast amounts of mana. Crystals! Years ago I found a way to use crystals even better than any other magi alive!

The guardian's eyes seemed to gleam with something at that boast. As if saying _I still knew someone better than you._ But he quickly hid it. Ignoring this, the Magus continued to boast.

"Now I can control crystals themselves and use them as an armor a thousand times stronger than diamond. Your little butter knives won't even scratch me."

Now Cyrustine raised his right hand. "Goodbye guardian, if you were the best Gaia could send after me, then truly my rule is assured. Die"

A massive bolt of lightning leapt from Cyrustine's hand toward the guardian. And the guardian vanished without a trace.

"Hmph, too easy."

Cyrustine turned away.

"Oh I wouldn't write me off just yet."

Cyrustine quickly turned around, only to see whirling white and black flashes spinning towards him. Right before they both bounced off his skull at the same time.

"Ow. Impressive, that you managed to dodge that. But throwing your swords away doesn't seem to be very wise to me."

When the smoke settled, the red clad figure was in view again.

"I think I'll manage."

Then another pair of swords appeared in his hands and he threw them too. Only this time when they hit, they exploded.

"Wha…" then the swords that bounced off Cyrustine's skull earlier hit him from behind and exploded too.

The explosions didn't even scratch his armor, but they still made his teeth rattle in his skull.

"What was that?!"

The smoke from the explosions obscured the guardian's form. And while the explosions didn't actually harm Cyrustine, they still startled him. After all, _exploding swords?!._

"Who are you?" Cyrustine whispered.

"You want to know who I am?" the guardian replied.

"_I am the bone of my sword."_

The smoke cleared and revealed the guardian holding a black longbow with a spiral bladed sword notched in it. When the guardian released the sword it turned into a shaft of light that impacted Cyrustine.

The explosions beforehand had shook. Cyrustine's teeth. This impact felt like his guts decided to do the conga and twist themselves into unnatural positions. And more worrisome than that, Cyrustine could feel a crack in his armor. A microscopic crack, but still a crack. A crack nobody would be able to see. But evidently, nobody told this guardian that, as he attacked that crack with a vengeance.

"_Steel is my body and fire is my blood."_

Each of the guardian's words resonated with some sort of power. But they didn't seem to be affecting anything. The only thing they seemed to be doing was emboldening the guardian.

"_I have created over a thousand blades."_

The guardian swung his swords so hard at the crack that his swords chipped and broke after a few blows. But whenever a sword broke, he would have another one in his hand ready to go.

"_Unknown to death, nor known to life."_

"You will know death when I am through with you!" Cyrutine growled. But this was still bad for him. He was not a hand to hand combatant. His blows kept missing the guardian and when he tried to defend the crack, the guardian just danced around his defenses.

"_Have withstood pain to create many weapons."_

Cyrustine tried to calm down. Even if there was a weakness in his armor, the focused blows were doing little to enlarge the crack. It was still microscopic, and so all he needed to do was figure out a way to kill the guardian with a spell. If he used lightening this close, he could fry himself so that option wasn't possible. Unless…

"_Yet those hands will never hold anything."_

"You're right about that!" Cyrustine used his magic to summon a powerful gust of wind that blew the guardian back a considerable distance.

"Urf!" The wind was knocked right out of the guardian as he his a remaining wall.

Charging up his lightning, Cyrustine grinned in triumph, "I have you now!" and loosed a blast of lightning that was at least twice as powerful as his first.

The guardian had no chance of dodging this blast. But he didn't panic in the least, he raised his right hand and held it outward, as it to stop the incoming blast of energy.

"RHO AIAS!"

What looked to be a giant seven petaled flower bloomed into existence.

"What the HELL!?" Cyrustine could only look on in shock as what seemed to be some kind of shield held fast against his lightning.

"Impossible!" But then the petals started to shatter. First one, then a second, then a third.

But then his lightning finally abated.

The guardian stood tall and completely unharmed.

"Who are you?" Cyrustine repeated.

"_So as I pray,"_

"_Unlimited Blade Works."_

Then in a flash of light, the entire world changed.

It was an infinite desert. The ground was a rust color and the sky looked like an autumn sunset. Giant floating cogs in the sky turned relentlessly. The air smelled like fire and melted steel. But beyond any of this, registered one feature of this new world.

Swords.

Swords stuck into the ground as far as the eye could see and beyond. Swords upon swords upon swords.

It was then that Cyrustine realized just what was happening.

"A Reality Marble…" he breathed in disbelief.

"How is it possible? Unless…" he turned to regard the guardian, who still wore an expression of determination.

"You're a magus."

"In life yes, I was a magus."

"But a magus that uses swords?"

"That's right. This Reality Marble was the only magic I really possessed. Because of that, I have only ever been able to use two forms of magic, Projection and Reinforcement."

The guardian picked up a longsword that was next to him and smirked. "What you face now are an unlimited number of blades. Do you want to surrender?"

Cyrustine clenched his teeth.

"I will never surrender to a magus as pathetic as you!!"

Cyrustine hurled another bolt of lightning, but the guardian was already on him. Swinging his swords with all the strength he possessed. The blows hit with such force that Cyrustine was forced back. And the blows never let up either, if a sword broke, the guardian would just grab another one and keep hammering away. It was an endless assault.

"You damn…!" At this rate, the crack might actually become visible.

"JUST DIE ALREADY GUARDIAN!!!!"

Cyrustine created a whirlwind around him that blasted away everything around him. The guardian barely managed to land on his feet. But when he did he grinned in triumph as he picked up the familiar pair of twin swords.

"_Divine skill, flawless and firm."_

Then he charged.

"_Strength moves mountains,"_

The blows from the guardian didn't even bother trying with any technique, he just put raw power into the blows which was enough to force Cyrustine back.

"_Blade cuts water"_

The guardian changed his entire technique in an instant. Cyrustine had been prepared to fend off another power blow, but instead, the red flash in front of him started attacking with nearly surgical precision. Trying to chip away at the layer of crystals.

"GIVE IT UP!" Cyrustine used reinforcement magic to strengthen his muscle and launched a haymaker at the swordsman.

"_Life approaches the Imperial Villa"_

The guardian took the blow straight in the chest. But managed to roll with it and use the momentum to gain distance from the magus. He then threw his swords yet again.

Even though Cyrustine kenw what would happen next, the swords flew too fast for him to react. The Broken Phantasms exploded right in his face.

"AAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!"

"_Two great men, shared life!"_

The smoke cleared and the guardian was nowhere to be found. Cyrustine looked around frantically, wondering where the next attack would come from. Then a shadow fell over Cyrustine and he looked up.

_An angel? _Cyrustine's entire body and mind froze as he saw a winged figure diving toward him from above. One white wing, and one black one…

The figure then twisted in midair and revealed that the wings were actually, _swords._

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

The red clad guardian brought down the feathered swords with a strength that easily surpassed all the other blows he had dealt to Cyrustine. Cyrustine was completely engulfed in this explosion and almost literally, forced _into _the ground.

The guardian leapt backwards as his swords dissipated in a flash of black and white feathers.

Silence reigned in the desert landscape for a moment. Then a shuffling noise came from Cyrustine's position.

"I will admit, I underestimated you. I was too confident in my unbreakable defense."

When the dust settled, Cyrustine was standing tall, but his once flawless crystal armor now had two giant fractures, each the width of a man's arm, that extended from the shoulders down to the opposite hips, making a giant X.

"Any more power in that blow, and I would be dead by now. Feel proud, you have almost sliced through something hundreds of times harder than diamond. But that was your final blow was it not? You're out of energy now. So I can kill you as I please."

Cyrustine raised his hand to make the final spell that would kill this troublesome guardian.

But the guardian just closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm a little disappointed, I thought for sure that last one would pierce you. However…"

The guardian's eyes shot open.

"That's where these come in."

Swords suddenly came out of nowhere, hitting Cyrustine in the side and sending his lightning off course. The guardian raised a hand up to the sky and Cyrustine looked up as well.

What he saw was a floating sea of swords. Hundreds if not thousands of blades all poised to strike a killing blow.

Then with all the finality of an executioner, the guardian pointed at Cyrustine.

It was a true rain of swords. A never ending assault on the weakened parts of Cyrustine's armor. An endless swarm of swords cracked and splintered his armor, until it started to break into pieces. In desperation, Cyrustine turned his back to the lethal shower and dived to the ground. Hoping that the undamaged back would give him some protection.

But it was in vain, his armor had been weakened and cracked everywhere by the wing like swords. At best, he had only bought himself a few seconds. Cyrustine tried to crawl to where the guardian was, determined to kill him, but just as he had managed to get the guardian into his line of sight, the first sword completely pierced his armor. Then another, two more, five more, a dozen more.

When the rain finally stopped, he could be called little more than a pincushion.

The guardian grimly nodded. " I guess that's that." And turned away from the pile of swords that buried the mad magus.

"D…d…die."

The guardian whirled around in shock. Protruding from the pile of swords, was an arm with its palm aimed towards the guardian, gathering energy for one last lightning strike.

The guardian wouldn't be able to dodge in time, nor did he have enough power to recreate his shield.

Time slowed down, the guardian could almost see his death coming for him from that hand. As the lightning slowly formed into a bolt of pure destructive power.

_So this is where it ends?_ He thought. A great part of him was relieved, now he may finally be able to know some peace. No more fighting, no more failing, no more death, no more being summoned into hell to clean up after the messes of people.

But a part of him…did not want to give up. A small part of him told him that he could not give up yet, he hadn't arrived at his goal, he hadn't fulfilled his promise, he had not yet finished fighting for his ideal!!

In desperation, more out of instinct than actual desire to live the guardian projected the twin swords again and actually tried to block the lightning with them. Electricity coursed through his body, had he still been human, be would have died right then and there. But his blades still managed to hold the destructive magical energy back. But the blast was too strong. He was forced back, even though he dug his heels into the ground, he slid back at a frightening speed.

Losing his strength, the guardian fell to a knee. His own blades mere inches from his face, the power that would kill him not much further.

_That's it then, I have nothing left. I can't go on anymore. _The guardian closed his eyes and started to slump his shoulders in acceptance.

Unbidden, two images leapt into his mind.

Hair of finely grained gold, eyes like emerald gems, a dress of dark blue, armor gleaming in the moonlight.

And the final smile she gave him when she said "Shrou, I love you."

His eyes snapped open and fresh determination surged into his limbs.

_I'm not done yet! I can't give up now! _He gained some better footing, struggling against the inevitable, just as he always had.

_I CAN"T EVEN THINK OF GIVING UP YET!!!_ With a yell, the guardian gained solid footing and stood up once more.

"Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggghh."

He took a step foreward.

"RRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!!"

Another step foreward.

"HHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!"

Several steps foreward.

And suddenly, the lightning ceased. And without it to push back at him, the guardian ignobly landed on his face.

"Urg." He grunted.

He looked back at the pile of swords and his blood froze.

There, sticking out of the arm that had thrown that final blast, was a golden sword he had not seen in an eternity. The first weapon he had ever Projected, the sword in the stone that chose the king.

A sword he had forgotten how to create long ago.

Then remarkably, a voice came from the pile of swords yet again. "I've, s…seen this sword. It was…Arthur's."

The mad magus was still alive. Or rather, his body just didn't realize it was dead yet.

"I…I once wanted…to serve Arthur. But I was too weak. I discovered my crystal method, but when… when… when I first awoke, I heard of his death. My dream was shattered."

The magus coughed up blood before continuing. Determined to tell his story before he died.

"I tried to prevent the chaos that followed. But again I failed. Finally, driven mad with the power I could have, I took to sleep for centuries."

With a final cough, the magus smiled within the cage of swords. "I wanted to help him build his kingdom. A place no one would suffer. But I guess that's an impossible dream."

"But something tells me, that you already know that."

The magus sighed and gave his final smile. "Take care, guardian…no. Take care Sir Knight." Then he was gone.

When Cyrustine had breathed his last, that shocked the guardian out of his stupor. He had to reach that sword!

He ran with his remaining strength toward the golden sword. He was almost within arms reach. Just a little closer…

But then the Reality Marble disappeared. And with it, the golden sword _Caliburn _that held so many memories for him.

"Damn it!" He pounded the ground in frustration. He was back in the ruined city. Surrounded by death yet again.

He didn't quite understand why he had gone after that sword so fiercely. All he knew was that he had been so close to grabbing it when it was ripped out of his hands.

After a moment, he once again he picked himself up. He felt tired. Gaia, the consciousness of the world would call him back to the throne of heroes soon. Only to plunge him back into hell _again._ But as he was preparing to leave, he spotted the young boy that Cyrustine had stabbed in the heart.

_I failed again._ He was used to it now. And that realization left a bitter taste in his mouth. He turned away, but as he did so, something fell from his duster.

It was a gem connected to a chain, it was vaguely heart shaped and glowed a deep red. It fell right on the boy, and glowed even brighter for a moment as it did the impossible.

It healed the boy's wound.

The guardian was in shock. This shouldn't be possible. He was never able to put mana into the jewel. He never had that talent. So how?

But regardless of how it happened, the result was more than he could have hoped for. The boy was breathing again.

Shaking in a mix of feelings, the guardian picked up the gem and smiled. "Still looking out for me, even now huh Tohsaka?" He then pocketed the gem. "Thank you."

He turned to regard the boy. He was alive. His life would be difficult, and filled with much pain and hardship, but he was alive.

"Please," he asked the boy. "Live a good life."

Then the guardian turned toward the sunset, and vanished without a trace.

* * *

Second part will be up soon. If you were confused if this was Archer or Shirou, it is Shirou from the Fate route as he exists as a Counter Guardian. As for Cyrustine, I couldn't think of a better name.

Oh well...


	2. Endless Pursuit

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor anything else associated with Type-Moon. Wow, this turned out much shorter than I thought it would I know I probably inferred a little with what Iliya says. Also, I may have mixed a little bit too much of the Unlimited Blade Works route into this one. This is supposed to be the Fate, Shirou after all. Let me know if I did mix a bit much UBW in this please. But once again, enjoy!

The Knight in Red

The red clad guardian known as Heroic Spirit, Shriou Emiya, was lying down inside his Reality Marble. Staring absentmindedly into the sunset colored sky. Once he had returned to the throne of heroes, he cast the spell again and searched for _Caliburn._ He had searched for what felt like weeks before he gave up. The blade wouldn't answer his summons, and finding it the old fashioned way was quite literally like trying to find a specific tree in the midst of a gigantic forest.

But he had tried anyway, with no success. Now as he gazed at the sky, watching the giant cogs spinning relentlessly, he reflected on how similar he was to them.

_Not too surprising_. He thought. _The Reality Marble is a reflection of ones soul. So it would be fitting for these cogs to be here. _

Turning his gaze away from the cogs to the clouds above, his thoughts turned to the two miracles that had happened in his fight with the mad magus.

The first being when _Caliburn, _the sword he had forgotten how to project long ago, had saved his life. He couldn't remember how to create that sword, much less command it like all of the other swords inside the marble, so how was it possible that Saber's old sword had saved him. It was almost as if…

He chuckled as the thought completed itself.

_Still protecting me Saber? Even after all this time. _He chuckled again. There was no way that was possible. He and Saber were separated by centuries of time and by death itself. She couldn't have had anything to do with that miracle. And yet, it had happened anyway.

Giving a slight shrug at the mystery, he turned his mind toward the second miracle, when the magically charged pendant that had once saved his life saved the life of a young boy. Even though he was completely incapable of transferring mana into crystal objects. Not in the way Tohsaka could do it.

_Could she have found it before I became a guardian and recharged it? Or is it because I'm a guardian, some of my magic has been able to just sink into it? _As he pondered the possibilities, he found himself wondering if he hadn't paid enough attention to Tohsaka's magic lessons.

He found himself smiling as he thought about the lecture he would receive from her if he hadn't paid enough attention to her lessons. She would chew his ears off with words alone!

But after a moment, his smile faded as he reminisced. He missed them. He missed all of them. Tohsaka, Sakura, Fuji-nee, Iliya, Issei, and of course, _Saber_. He was all alone as he fought and killed in hells created by people. Situations where it was impossible to save everyone.

Forcing his mind back to the questions at hand, one large question rose to the top of his mind. _Why now?_

Why would he see the sword of the woman he loved and why would the life saving gem work now? What was so special about the fight with the magus that would warrant two miracles occurring?

The answer hit him like one of Cyrustine's lightning bolts. He had almost given up.

_I've…I've never been so close to giving up before. I really wanted it to end there._ Then a second revelation hit him. _The chant I used for Unlimited Blade Works, that wasn't my chant, it sounded more like…_

It was shocking for him, to say the least, to know that for a little while at least, he truly had become Archer.

_I guess I can truly understand him now. Why he had been such a bastard to talk to during the Grail War._

On impulse, he lifted his left hand, toward the sky. As if trying to grasp something that was forever out of his reach.

_Is this all just a mistake? _

He thought back to all the events in his life. Being saved by Kiretsugu, Kiretsugu's final moments, the promise he made to him, the Grail war, and his deal with the world.

It did indeed seem like this was all a big mistake…

"Oni-chan?"

His mind was flung back to a conversation with Iliya. Something she once said to him.

"Don't ever regret your choice. Because if you regret it, than you will never be happy. And I don't want my Oni-chan to be miserable."

"So promise?"

Back in the present, he clenched the fist he was holding up.

"I promise."

First Saber's sword, then Rin's gem and now a memory of a promise he made to Iliya. This had to mean something…

_She feels so close that I could reach out and touch her. But when I reach out, she's not there. But even so, there are things that remain in both of our hearts, right? We lived in the same time and we saw the same things. If we remember that, then no matter how far apart we are, we are still together with each other. So for now, I'll keep running. Because someday, no matter how far away what I'm looking for is, as long as I keep running, I'll reach it someday. I know it._

Of course.

Those were the words he said to himself after he and Saber had parted. The words he had engraved into his heart. That's when it finally hit him.

Maybe these miracles were reminders from those he had cared about the most. Reminders of why he had chosen this path. It was an impossible path that would never yield any reward. But he never asked for one. And this was a path worth taking.

_Besides, I made another promise. I promised I'd see her again._

But it was harder than he could have ever imagined. He remembered how Saber when she was king, had locked away all of her emotions in order to carry out her duties. He didn't think he could do the same, but maybe he could lock away the painful things. Locking them in a heart of steel. He had to, otherwise he might really give up.

He would have to be careful, he had come within a hair's breadth of regretting his choice. Something he could never allow. Because while he may be defeated in battle countless times by others, he could never allow himself to be defeated by his own self. And he had a feeling that there would be no more reminders of why he chose this path. Those three were the only reminders he would get. The rest was up to him alone now.

_That's fine_. _I'm over-thinking things anyway. _He prepared to pick himself off the ground. _I __**chose**__ this path. It was __**my**__ choice. Because of that, there is__** nothing to regret.**_

Slowly, painfully, Shirou Emiya picked himself off the ground. Many parts of his body felt sore and fatigued. Others felt like they were in rebellion over the strain he was putting on them. His entire body felt like one giant mass of pain and scars.

Finally, he stood up. Straight and tall with his eyes facing straight ahead, and not a hint of doubt could be seen in his features or in his heart.

_No matter what happens, I will keep aiming towards that utopia. Even if my dedication becomes twisted, even if I become tired, I will never stop. Because someday, I will reach it. And I'll reach her too._

He felt the call of the world. It was time again. There was another battle to be fought.

Smiling for what could very well be the last time in a long time, as he would have to lock away many things inside his heart, the knight in red took a step forward. Then another, and another.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Banishing his pain and fatigue with every step he took, the knight broke into a run, projected his swords and hurtled straight into his next battle. Endlessly pursuing that ever distant utopia, and Saber, the woman he loved.

"_I am the bone of my sword"_

"_Steel is my body and fire is my blood."_

"_I have created over a thousand blades."_

"_Unaware of loss nor aware of gain."_

"_Withstood pain to create weapons."_

"_Waiting for one's arrival."_

"_I have no regrets this is the only path."_

"_My whole life was,"_

_**Unlimited Blade Works!**_


End file.
